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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27594010">True Love Tends to Forget</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Switched_Aesthetic/pseuds/Switched_Aesthetic'>Switched_Aesthetic</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Supernatural</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Amnesia, F/M, dean winchester fanfiction, supernatural fanfiction - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 23:55:47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,818</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27594010</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Switched_Aesthetic/pseuds/Switched_Aesthetic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean Winchester finally wakes up in the hospital after a traumatic head injury, causing him to forget the most recent years of his life including his wife! He doesn't know who she is but she knows him. Will he get his memories back? Will he fall in love with her all over again? Or will their marriage fall to shambles?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dean Winchester/Original Female Character(s), Sam Winchester/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Adrift</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dean's eyes fluttered open to reveal his younger brother, Sam standing over him. "Hey Sammy," the eldest of the Winchester boys croaked as he offered his brother a weak smile. <br/>Immediately, Sam drew closer. Dean could see his brother's eyes begin to gloss over from happiness- God. How long was I out for? He wondered. </p>
<p>"Dean, I- How do you feel?" Sam finally spoke.</p>
<p>"Like hell," Dean grunted as he began to push himself into a sitting up position.</p>
<p>Sam chuckled, a smirk appearing on his face. "Yeah, I bet." he paused "Hey, I'll go get Claudia." Before Sam could get even two feet away, Dean furrowed his brow in confusion.</p>
<p>"Who's Claudia?"</p>
<p>He watched Sam's face fall once it dawned on him that this wasn't just another one of Dean's stupid pranks. Dean really had no idea what Sam was talking about. "On second thought, maybe I should get the doctor."</p>
<p>~~~</p>
<p>Out in the hall, Sam, Bobby, Sylvie and Claudia gathered around the doctor as he looked over Dean's charts. He sighed pulling his clipboard closer to his torso as he reached a diagnosis. "The good news is that Dean's recovering well and will be able to be discharged in no time."</p>
<p>"And the bad news?" Claudia prodded as she began to chew on the inside of her lip.</p>
<p>"Unfortunately, due to the severity of the head injury; he will be suffering some short-term memory loss."</p>
<p>"Well, what the hell does that mean?" Bobby's voice was gruff as he pushed for answers.</p>
<p>"It means, he likely won't remember things from recent years-like some people for example." The doctor paused, gesturing to Claudia, "Try to just ease him into things. Expose him to photos, music, anything that could be significant enough to jog his memory. Most importantly be patient, these things can take anywhere between a few weeks to a few years." he forced a friendly smile before dismissing himself and leaving the group to process this new information together.</p>
<p>~~~<br/>Dean nodded as he drummed on his lap before his face lit up at the sight of Sam and Bobby entering the room with two women that he didn't recognize. One was taller with dark hair, tied back into a ponytail and glasses while the other was shorter with light brown hair and an impressive physique that he took a moment to admire.</p>
<p>"Dean, this is Sylvie; my fiance," Sam spoke with the taller woman at his side, smiling sheepishly.</p>
<p>"Well I'll be damned," Dean paused, "Hey look, I know Sammy can be a little annoying and dorky sometimes but he is a real nice guy." he mocked, causing Sylvie to laugh at Sam's expense. His eyes then redirected to the shorter girl, "You must be Claudia- the one my brother mentioned earlier."</p>
<p>She smiled sympathetically and nodded, "So, no memory of me, huh?"</p>
<p>"No, sorry. I wouldn't mind getting to know you though." he flashed her a smirk which made her laugh.</p>
<p>"Dean," Sam intervened before clearing his throat, "She's uh- you and her-"</p>
<p>"Oh for god's sake." Bobby interrupted, growing irritated at Sam's sputtering. "She's your wife, boy."</p>
<p>Dean's browsed raised, staring at Bobby intently, "My wife?" he asked before gaging his focus back onto Claudia who laughed nervously,</p>
<p>"Yeah, imagine my surprise when you proposed." she joked, attempting to make light of the situation.</p>
<p>Dean never imagined he'd get married, not with the life he lived. The life of a hunter always ended the same way. "I-I don't-"</p>
<p>"Don't worry about it," she told him, shrugging off her own feelings, "I'm just glad you're okay."</p>
<p>"Well, I guess we should give you two some privacy," Bobby spoke as he began to usher Sam and Sylvie out of the room.</p>
<p>Dean felt his stomach begin to knot, he wanted everyone else to stay. He had no idea who Claudia even was. The last thing he could recall he was still picking up girls at bars or while working cases. He had no idea how to deal with emotional crap nevermind a wife he couldn't remember. "Can I uh..." Claudia's voice trailed off, interrupting his thoughts. She gestured to the end of the bed.</p>
<p>"Yeah. Go ahead." </p>
<p>Cautiously, Claudia took her seat at the edge of the hospital bed and he noticed the way she glanced over him. She tilted her head before pulling out a travel-sized radio and tuning it to a station that played Metallica as background noise. He scoffed as the ends of his mouth began to curl up into a smile, "In no way am I complaining, but why are you playing Metallica?"</p>
<p>She laughed to herself, "I um-" she paused as her features began to soften, "I know that listening to Metallica helps calm you down and, given the situation I kinda figured it couldn't hurt." she shrugged.</p>
<p>He felt himself begin to relax. He didn't know her but she clearly knew him. He leaned himself back, figuring he should try to make small talk "So, are you a hunter?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, actually Sylvie and I met you and Sammy when we were working on the same case that I guess you guys picked up." She smiled nervously once she noticed the way he was smiling at her, "What?"</p>
<p>"You just called my brother Sammy." He pointed out, more amused than bothered by the fact someone else made use of the nickname.</p>
<p>"Oh, sorry. I got used to hearing you say it so much I guess it just kind of wore off on me." Claudia began to fidget with her hands, picking fluffs off of the blanket. It seemed to Dean that maybe he wasn't the only one that was nervous.</p>
<p>"Don't worry about it. How does he react when you call him that?"</p>
<p>Claudia's eyes almost immediately sparked once he asked the question, "Oh, the first time I called him that, I don't know who was more caught off-guard; you or him. He basically looked at me like I just shattered his soul, then it kind of just shifted to complete dread. He sighed and said 'You too?' "</p>
<p>Dean laughed, appreciating the story, "And what did I do?"</p>
<p>"You looked shocked but proud when I said it? Then you grinned and put your arm around my waist. You kept talking to him and made sure to add emphasis every time you said, Sammy."</p>
<p>His eyebrows raised as he racked his brain before nodding, "Sounds about right. How long you been hunting?"</p>
<p>"I didn't grow up into it the same way you did. I went to college and university, got my degree. It just- it never felt right to me? Sylvie and I had our first violent ghost experience together at this job we both had- we were kind of a mess that night. It turned into something we started picking up here and there and eventually it just ventured out with it. It's been about five years now."</p>
<p>"Wait, you did all of that and still chose hunting? Why?" Dean sat in bewilderment. This wasn't a life he would've chosen for himself or his brother; yet here was this woman with options who did exactly that.</p>
<p>She sighed, "I was never sure about anything but hunting- that's what felt right to me. I get to help people every single day; sure it comes with a price but it makes me happy. I get to drive down the highway and see new places I probably wouldn't have otherwise. Yeah, I may never have a normal life again but I'm okay with that because weirdly enough, hunting makes me happy." She paused, her smile slowly beginning to fade. "Dean, there's one other thing I need to tell you."</p>
<p>He stiffened but nodded for her to go ahead.</p>
<p>"I'm kind of what some you would call a witch. It runs in my family, actually."</p>
<p>Dean sat silently, staring at her. He married a friggin’ witch, seriously? He was sure there was almost no way in hell he would ever marry someone who could do that freaky witch shit. The entire thing just made his skin crawl.</p>
<p>"Look, I don't use my powers; I haven't since before you and I even got together. I don't like to use them- not unless it's absolutely necessary. I know how you feel about this type of thing though. If you need some time, I'll give that to you."</p>
<p>Dean laid his head in his hand closing his eyes, his head felt like it was spinning as he tried to process everything. "It's probably best if you go."</p>
<p>He didn't look at her, he didn't need to. He felt the bed shift as she got up and heard her steps as she walked away. When he finally looked up he saw the small radio- still playing music. He held it in his hands looking on as if he could see the lyrics flowing through the speakers.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Fine-Tuning</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Discharged from the hospital, Dean took a moment to admire the black '70 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu that sat in the driveway to Bobby's house. Nice Car. He thought to himself as he made his way inside. It felt good to be home- or at least the closest thing to it he'd ever had. He could do without Sammy hovering over him though. He raised his brow at his younger brother, growing irritated with the way he was being fussed over. Sam forced a tight smile, realizing he was being a bit much and in turn; backed off.</p>
<p>Feeling drained, he made way for his room. When he got halfway up the stairs he heard soft music playing in the distance, causing him to take a brief pause. Slowly, he carried on until he found himself in the doorway of his room. There, he saw her sitting on the bed with her back turned to him and an acoustic in her lap. He leaned against the frame, letting his eyes settle on her, a peaceful grin slowly appearing on his face as he hung onto every note. A misplayed note broke the trance- bringing her to a halt as she rest her head on the body of the guitar.</p>
<p>"Come on, don't stop," Dean spoke, stepping further into the room and gaining her attention.</p>
<p>Claudia shrugged, offering him a half-smile "It's just a thing I do. I get really into it and once I mess up, I just wallow in it."</p>
<p>Chuckling, he sat on the other end of the bed, "What else can you play?"</p>
<p>She mulled the question over for a moment, "Songs, mainly AC/DC, Bon Jovi, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles and a few others. If you mean instruments though- I can play like three songs on the drums, one on bass and a few on piano."</p>
<p>Intrigued, he raised his eyebrows, "That's friggin' awesome." The two glanced at each other, sharing a soft smile as silence fell over them. It felt nice.</p>
<p>Soon, Claudia diverted her eyes. "How's your head feeling by the way?"</p>
<p>He shrugged, "It feels like a headache, just- constantly."</p>
<p>She offered him a sympathetic smile, "Here," she said as she got up and placed the guitar on the stand just off to the corner of the room, "You should probably get some rest. You can have the room, it would probably be a little weird if I stayed in here." He felt his throat go dry as she laughed nervously. He felt bad he didn't remember her and the fact that she was being so nice about it made him feel worse.</p>
<p>"Where are you gonna sleep?" he asked as she edged closer to the door.</p>
<p>"The couch." She shrugged, leaving the room before he would even have the chance to argue.</p>
<p>~~~</p>
<p>That night, Dean tossed and turned in the bed. Nothing felt comfortable, at least not in the way he had remembered it. Figuring he wouldn't get any sleep, he groaned before dragging himself out of bed and down the stairs. With any hope, there would be a nice slice of pie in the fridge just ready to be eaten. Only once the floor started to creak did he remember that Claudia was meant to be on the couch. He crept slowly, only to be surprised at the lack of life on the couch. The light from the kitchen barely illuminated the room ahead of him. He paused when he saw Claudia leaning against the counter with her head in her hand. He pushed himself into the shadows as she ran her hand through her hair, letting out a long sigh. Though he considered checking on her, he couldn't bring himself to do so- ultimately retreating back to his bedroom.</p>
<p>There, he lay staring at the ceiling. To say he was disappointed in himself would be an understatement but he couldn't bring himself to comfort her; not while knowing her reason for seeming so stressed out was more than likely him. He sighed, tossing himself onto one of the pillows, holding it close to him. Once the sweet scent hit his nose, he nuzzled his face into it- soft, worn leather and some type of sweets. The smell soothed him as his whirling thoughts dimmed in his brain and were soon washed away by the peaceful promise that was sleep as he clutched the pillow.</p>
<p>~~~</p>
<p>Slowly waking up, there was only one thing on his mind. Coffee. He stretched, letting out a groan before he pulled himself out of bed.</p>
<p>"Good morning." Claudia greeted as he entered the kitchen. She placed a cup of black coffee in front of him. He looked at it skeptically before deciding to hell with it. His eyes wandered up along her figure. If being married meant mornings with a beautiful woman and already-made coffee then who was he to complain?</p>
<p>"Morning." He replied, the sleep heavy in his voice.</p>
<p>"Sleep well?" she asked, fixing her own cup of coffee.</p>
<p>He shrugged, "As good as expected, you?"</p>
<p>"It was okay." She offered him a reassuring smile before turning to get the sugar from the cabinet. It was only upon trying to fill her teaspoon did she realize that the container was empty. She closed her eyes, letting out an exasperated sigh before going back into the cabinet and getting on her toes as she tried to reach the bag of sugar.</p>
<p>"Here, I'll get it." He said, coming up behind her and reaching the bag with ease. When she turned to thank him, he got the faintest whiff of her natural fragrance- soft, worn leather and sweets. It made his heart slow as he realized that the comforting scent on his pillow last night, was her. His eyes focused on her as she finished preparing her coffee.</p>
<p>"Dean, I don't mean to pry but, you never exactly told me how you felt about me being a witch." She pointed out, avoiding eye contact. He felt his heart sink to his stomach. He hadn't put much thought into that at all since the hospital, in fact, he almost completely forgot. </p>
<p>He inhaled deeply, "You said you were born like this but why don't you like to use magic?"</p>
<p>"When I was a kid, I was told that it's not normal- I mean it isn't but I was encouraged to hide that part of myself. When I was a teenager though, I got more interested in practicing and my grandmother had no problem teaching me but I decided that I'd really only use my powers when necessary. I've seen the way some witches let it define them and I just didn't want that for myself. It definitely makes being a hunter more interesting."</p>
<p>Satisfied with her answer he racked his brain for any other questions, "So what reason did you have for using magic the last time?"</p>
<p>Claudia itched the back of her neck, "Another witch tried to harm you, so it was an instinct I had to stop her the easiest way I could.  It's not a good excuse, I know that and you were pretty pissed- you didn't know I could use magic. It took a while before you forgave me but the only part I regretted was not telling you sooner."</p>
<p>"So why didn't you tell me sooner?"</p>
<p>He watched as she let out a nervous laugh, "Well, you didn't exactly like me when we first met. You didn't trust anyone which was understandable, not to mention you thought I was a smug, know-it-all and I kind of am," she grinned, "When we finally started getting along I just didn't want to mess it up, which I did anyway. I should have told you though."</p>
<p>He furrowed his brows, feeling as though he was at an impasse with himself. "Okay, the entire thing is freaky but I'm okay." his words brought a smile to her face as the two of them were able to enjoy their morning coffee in each other's company.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Make A Memory</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A few long weeks had passed and everyone- or almost everyone constantly busied themselves with trying to help Dean regain his memories.</p>
<p>"Come on Dean, do you remember anything?" Sam pushed, recalling the various hunts they went on with their ladies. Paying special attention to how they all had met which eventually led to the girls breaking them out of jail while on a hunt for a pair of ghouls. As much as Dean wanted to remember, instead, he just grew irritable.</p>
<p>"No, Sammy." Dean snapped, "This whole thing is pointless. What? You expect my memory to just come flooding back after a few little stories?" He sighed, before heading up the stairs and into his room. He found Claudia, rummaging through a shoebox under his bed.</p>
<p>"What's that?" The sudden sound of his voice had caused her to jolt.</p>
<p>"It's nothing," she shrugged off, closing the lid and pushing the box back into its place. "How did things go with Sam?"</p>
<p>He watched as she sat on the edge of the bed, her smile soft with a hint of hope to it. When he clenched his jaw, that was a sign enough that he was still without his memories. He furrowed his brows, one question weighing heavy on his mind, "Why haven't you been trying to get me to remember anything? Don't take this the wrong way but, you're supposed to be my wife."</p>
<p>"Because it feels selfish on my part," she shrugged as he searched her face for answers. "I don't want to tell you how you're supposed to feel about me- that you're supposed to love me. I know you already feel bad about not remembering and I'm okay with where we're at. I'm okay with giving you the time and space that you need. If you get your memories back then that's fantastic but you're still making new ones, every day. I don't want the new memories to be clouded over by you being miserable over not remembering any of the old ones- no matter how much they may mean to me. I know how I feel about you and if someday you feel the same way again, that's great, but if not, I won't blame you."</p>
<p>He watched as she chewed at the inside of her lip. He could see her eyes become glossy and his heart fell still. It was clear to him that she loved him and he knew he felt something for her. He sat beside her on the bed before caressing her face in his hands and planting a gentle kiss on her lips. When they parted, he closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers.</p>
<p>"What was that for?" Her voice was just above a whisper as her hands held onto his forearms.</p>
<p>"You're the only person who's thought about how I've felt during all of this. Sam and Bobby, they're trying and they're family- I get that. You though, you're someone I have no memory of and you're putting me first." He said, looking into her blue eyes that began to glisten once more, causing her to look down.</p>
<p>She laughed to herself, "You know, the first time we ever kissed, I was actually thanking you for protecting me? Hellhounds broke through a window and you took several shards to the arm, covering me."</p>
<p>"Wait, so you kissed me first?" He took a moment, wrapping his head around the fact that he wasn't the one who made the first move.</p>
<p>She gently nudged him with her elbow, "It was as a thank you. I also needed to find some way to distract you while I stitched your arm up."</p>
<p>Nodding his head, he figured she had a fair point. He wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her into a hug. He let out a content sigh. "I want you to know, I do have feelings for you." He admitted before kissing the top of her head.</p>
<p>She nodded, looking up to establish eye-contact with him. "We can figure something out. Whatever pace you're comfortable with is fine by me."</p>
<p>"Whatever pace?" He gave her a cheeky smirk, causing her to roll her eyes.</p>
<p>"Just so you know, before we realized we were dating, we were already sleeping together."</p>
<p>"Really?" He raised his brows at her, he didn't mind the sound of that.</p>
<p>"Whichever pace you want." She reconfirmed.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Thank You for Loving Me</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dean wrapped his arms around Claudia as she examined herself in the mirror.</p>
<p>"Beautiful." He told her, placing a kiss on her temple. She let out a content sigh, placing her hands over his. Taking her hand in his, he spun her around and began to sway back and forth with her in a silent slow dance. His features softened as she giggled and stared up at him with nothing but love in her eyes.</p>
<p>"Thank you for loving me." He said, knowing that was the song that played when he proposed to her- knowing it was the song that they had danced to at their wedding. He watched as her face fell, she never told him those details. She didn't share details about the proposal or the wedding because she didn't want their relationship to feel forced.</p>
<p>"Dean?" Her voice cracked as tears began to well up in her eyes. He nodded softly, confirming to her that he had gotten his memories back. She buried her face into her chest and held onto him tightly as she began to cry tears of joy.</p>
<p>He placed gentle kisses in her hair, "I love you," he whispered.</p>
<p>She looked up at him, "You're not messing with me, right? You remember everything?"</p>
<p>"Everything," he chuckled, "And even with no memory, you still managed to make me fall in love with you all over again."</p>
<p>She started placing a series of kisses on his lips, "I love you," she repeated with each one. His grin grew as he embraced her. He knew, more than ever, exactly how true that was.</p>
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